Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, is calling for some cooperation between NASA and China, despite the fact that NASA cannot use federal funds to engage in business with China.
In an attempt to stop espionage and effectively portray China as an enemy in space, the Wolf Amendment was passed by Congress in 2011.
According to Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, the Chinese civilian space program is actually their military space program. This was revealed by Scientific American this summer. This is why I believe we are entering a space race against China.
China has made great strides in space over the past few years. It launched its first core module for the Tiangong station and sent three astronauts to it. China successfully returned a sample from the Moon to Earth last year. This was its first attempt since 1976. It also landed a functioning Mars rover in spring this year.
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Musk was clearly impressed by these achievements.
SpaceX CEO, John McDonnell, has always aimed to make humanity multi-planetary. NASA is an important source for funding rocket development but it has to cooperate with China.
It is unclear as to what Musk meant by some cooperation and what China's role should be in his vision.
However, Musk's relationship with China has been much better than that of Congress. This is especially true when it comes Tesla, his auto company, which has made significant moves to expand its presence in China.
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There is no doubt that China's advances in space could lead to the sharing of knowledge between SpaceX and its space agency.
China is looking to establish its own orbital base, as NASA plans to dismantle the International Space Station. This means that China will soon have its own permanent space presence, while NASA may not.
SpaceX's major revenue source is cargo and astronaut launches to the ISS.
However, any progress in cooperation will be impeded by political differences. China-US relations have been deteriorating, particularly under Donald Trump's presidency.
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Two world power are working on their plans to colonize outer space. It is not clear if they will find common ground and where that leaves SpaceX.
John Logsdon, a professor from George Washington University, said that he believes we will see a mix of cooperation and competition between two blocs, one led US and one led China.
He said that it was the [US-versus Soviet] competition that brought us to the Moon. For global leadership, there is competition between China and the USA.
READ MORE: Can China and the U.S. Cooperate in Space? [Scientific American]
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